


as long as there's christmas

by soleilouis



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Christmas, Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M, mentions of Zayn/Perrie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-30
Updated: 2013-12-30
Packaged: 2018-01-06 17:10:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1109412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soleilouis/pseuds/soleilouis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>louis and harry decide to spend part of their christmas holiday at disneyland. their kids could not be more pleased.</p>
            </blockquote>





	as long as there's christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [supernope](https://archiveofourown.org/users/supernope/gifts).



> i hope this is something like what you wanted :) this is really just pure fluff. happy holidays, dear.  
> a big thank you to k and c for looking this over and listening to me whine, like, everyday. love you lots and thanks for being my disney editors. (also, i have literally never been to disneyland. all information comes from k who spends a lot of time there and the internet. please excuse anything that sounds made up, because it probably is.) not real/any remaining mistakes are my own! title from beauty and the beast: the enchanted christmas.

It’s 4:30 am on the morning of his birthday when Louis wakes up. He rubs at at his eyes lazily, listening to the sound of something, a pot or a pan, clattering on the marble floor, which is exactly what he wanted for his birthday, really. Louis is an expert by now at hearing sounds and knowing exactly what is breaking and where. He isn’t even sure that the sound is exactly what woke him, because he feels like he’s been lying awake for at least ten minutes, listening to the pitter patter of bare feet against the kitchen floor and the sound of Harry’s steady breathing. He watches Harry a moment, waiting to see if he will wake up to go see what the noise in the kitchen is.

He doesn’t stir at all, of course he doesn’t, and Louis swings his feet off of the bed with a groan. Seriously, if someday there is real problem in the middle of the night, they’re pretty well fucked. Harry can sleep through anything - even the beginning half of a blowjob, Louis has learned - and Louis is practically useless. Luckily, nine times out of ten, the bump in the night is just their two small children causing a ruckus. Right, luckily, Louis reminds himself as he rubs his tired eyes again and drags his feet across the cold floor.

“Excuse me,” he whispers loudly, careful not to wake Harry, once he walks through the entryway of the kitchen. “What’s this?” He gestures to both the strew of cookware on the floor and the two tiny humans responsible for such a mess. They’re like small tornadoes, honestly.

Louis fixes his eyes on his daughter, who’s holding a small blanket to her chest and nudging her older brother with a harsh elbow. She mumbles something that sounds an awful lot like “‘s your fault” before Louis clears his throat impatiently.

“Seriously,” Louis says, coming into the kitchen and crouching in front of them. “Jackson?”

Jackson blushes and chews on his bottom lip, like he always does when he’s feeling extra guilty, just like his dad. It’s adorable, really, and always puts a small stumbling block in Louis’ plans to be the stern and responsible parent. Jackson shakes his head quickly, his dark curls falling into his eyes momentarily before he pushes them back. He points to the larger mess behind them and - Well, Louis hadn’t even noticed that.

There are at least a half dozen cracked eggs on the floor, seemingly after being dropped, and a bag of flour tipped over on the counter. It’s spilling onto the floor, obviously, and Louis stands up with a sigh to fix it upright.

“What about you, little miss? Do you know how the mess got here?”

“‘m sorry, Papa,” Ava finally pipes up with a pout. “We were too ‘cited and Jax said that we should make birthday brekkie for you--”

“I did not!” Jackson yells defiantly, and Louis shushes him quickly.  His curls are absolutely unruly at this hour of the night, each one springing in a different direction. His eyes are green, just like Harry’s, and he has most of Harry’s other facial features, too. They’ve always been incredibly thankful that their kids were able to be pieces of each of them - god bless science and surrogacy, really - because fuck, he loves looking at them and seeing Harry in even the smallest ways. Jackson’s just had his sixth birthday, something that Louis tries to deny pretty frequently, and he’s already turning into a miniature version of his father every day.

“We wanted to surprise--” Ava hiccups. “Surprise you for your birthday, Papa.”

Louis heart melts immediately - as it always does, because he’s a sucker, okay, Harry’s right -  and he forgets about the early hour and the mess on the floor. Ava is pouting and it’s really too cute for her own good, and Louis wants to scoop her up in his arms and blow a raspberry on her face, but--. Discipline, right.

“That’s very sweet, bug, but if you two want to leave the house today for our fun day, I suggest you clean up this mess,” Louis says, using his best stern voice. They both mumble a quick “yes, Papa” before bending down to start picking up the pots and pans. Louis would usually drag this out a bit more, because, honestly. But it’s 4:30 in the morning and he’s going to the happiest place on earth today, so he thinks that a nice rub to his temples and going back to bed quickly enough will suffice. Louis ends up helping them get everything cleaned up pretty quickly, giving them each a kiss on the head and reassuring them that it was a nice thought, before sending them off to their own rooms for a few more hours. The park doesn’t open for at least four hours, Louis thinks, and after getting off a flight from London and settled into the house in LA at nearly 11 o’clock last night, he needs the extra hour or two of sleep.

This trip wasn’t a last minute decision, it’s something they’ve been planning for the last year. Longer than that, really, when Louis thinks about it. When Jackson was just a baby, during his first Christmas, Harry had mentioned that James Corden and his wife had taken their kids to Disneyland for the holidays. He showed Louis pictures that James had sent, lots of lit up buildings and characters in costume and it was something the two of them had wanted to do since then. “When things slow down,” they always said. Things had never been slower since , honestly, and it was nothing short of magical. Niall and Liam are still in London, living in the same neighborhood as Harry and Louis. It’s nice having the boys so close, actually feels like absolutely nothing has changed. Niall is still in their fridge at least three times a week, despite a fridge (and a wife) of his own. Zayn and Perrie moved to the suburbs of Los Angeles shortly after the boys had agreed to take some time off, wanting to get a change of scenery. It also allows Zayn to branch out more with producing music for big-time artists, commuting into the city for work on days that he needs to. Louis begs them daily to move back to London and it’s not at all whiny.

Harry and Louis have had their house in LA since, shit, the Take Me Home album (They do that a lot, pinning life events to the timeline of albums or accomplishments of the band). That may be one of the reasons that Zayn and Perrie made the move, honestly, falling in love after spending a summer at the house tucked away in a corner of LA and seeing how private and nice it was. They’d been there before, obviously, but it’s different when you’re in your own cozy home. Louis will have to remember not to let any of his other co-dependent best friends fall in love with a city 5,000 miles away. It isn’t doing wonders for his sanity.

“Louis?” Harry says quietly when Louis finally crawls back into bed. “What's wrong?”

Harry’s hair looks ridiculous, standing straight up from being smushed against the pillow all night, and he’s rubbing at his eyes like a sleepy toddler. Louis loves him very, very much.

“Nothing, baby, ‘s’alright,” he whispers, fitting against Harry’s side and kissing his bare chest. “The kids woke up and made a bit of a mess in the kitchen. Told them we’d punch Mickey Mouse right in the face if they didn’t clean up.”

“Louis,” Harry says with a small gasp, tightening his arms around him. He’s the most gullible person that Louis has ever met sometimes.

Louis laughs against Harry's skin. “I didn’t, Haz, but we did clean up. Said they were too excited for today. Me too, a bit.”

“Mmm,” Harry hums, placing a kiss to the top of Louis’ head. “Me too. Can we sleep until then though?”

Louis laughs quietly, pressing closer to Harry. “‘course, love.”

“Happy birthday, babe,” Harry says after a moment when Louis is nearly asleep, moving a hand to rest just so in the small of Louis’ back. It’s going to be an incredible day.

~

“Oh my god,” Harry says once he catches his breath. “Are you hearing this? He’s so funny.”

Louis smiles fondly at Harry and re-situates Ava on his lap, squirming in his rather uncomfortable seat. He can’t wait to get off this ride, or boat, rather. They’ve been at the park for 6 hours already, and he has a pretty good feeling that he’ll be dead on his feet by the end of the day. At least this tour lets him sit for a while, he thinks. Harry loves the Jungle Cruise, thinks it’s the funniest fucking thing he’s ever seen or heard in his life, which Louis takes great offense to. Their skipper, who mandates that everyone on the tour calls him Skipper Skip, is a short and pudgy man with a smile too big for his face. He keeps making terrible puns, gesturing to the animals in the wilderness (which are completely animatronic, a fact that Louis feels like Skipper Skip is failing to acknowledge), and Harry is eating it up. He’s slapping his knee, actually slapping his knee at this, and Louis is hopelessly endeared.

They’re having a blast, really. The kids were so happy when they pulled into the park, screaming and bouncing up and down in the back seat while Louis watched them in the rear view mirror. It’s like an overload of excitement, with Christmas the next day and Disneyland today, and they can barely keep the smiles off their faces. They’ve taken their time in each land, the kids walking up to every line’s ride with wide eyes. Ava is a bit scared, usually, until Harry scoops her up in his arms and says that he’s scared too. He isn’t, Louis knows, but. It helps.

“That was great,” Jackson screams once they’ve stepped off the Jungle Cruise boat, and Louis smiles down at his son, smoothing his hair back. Jackson is wearing a bandana on his head, much like the one Harry is sporting - folded to make a thin headband that holds back his curls from his forehead. To keep them cool, Harry says, and Louis isn’t sure if he’s referring to the temperature or not.

They make their way out of Adventureland, stopping when Ava sees Cinderella and demands they stop to take a picture with her in front of her castle.  Harry bites his tongue to keep from correcting Ava, because his guidebook clearly states that it is Sleeping Beauty’s castle - Louis doesn’t even have to hear Harry say it to know it is exactly what he is thinking. Harry snaps the pictures on his phone happily, posting it to instagram while they finish their walk towards Tomorrowland. This area of the park is Louis’ favorite, from what he can remember from his trips here when he was younger, always a sucker for anything space related. Ava makes them promise to take her to meet Tinkerbell before dinner, since these are “the boy rides” - her words - and they oblige happily.

“Having fun, yeah?” he asks once they’ve stepped off the Astro Orbiter, one of Jackson’s self-declared new favorite rides. It made Louis’ stomach feel only slightly queasy - he’s never been a fan of children’s rides for the sole fact that they are mostly prone to go in circles over and over again. He grins once they’re just outside the gate, locking eyes with Harry, who is carrying Jackson on his shoulders. It’s cliche, he thinks, to say that this really is the happiest place on earth, but--. Fuck. He feels so happy, with an added bonus that Harry hasn’t stopped smiling all day, the kids laughing and smiling just the same. It’s one of the best days he’s had in a long time, and it isn’t even over yet.

He bends down a bit to take Ava’s hand in his so that they can follow the flow of the crowd towards the exit. She’s so small (“Takes after you, Lou,” Harry always teases, which, no), and her hand feels like a tiny stone in Louis’ hand. She’s only four, but sometimes he thinks that she’s four going on thirteen. He looks down at her quickly, making sure she’s still wearing her tiny fanny pack - something that neither her nor Jackson were entirely pleased about, Ava only agreeing to wear hers once Harry showed her that it was covered in princesses.

“Papa this is the bestest,” she says, tugging on his hand. “‘m very hungry, please.” It isn’t a question, but Ava is always quite polite and Louis understands what she means.  

They ate lunch in New Orleans Square not long ago, it feels like, but it’s getting close to dinner time already and Louis has yet to talk to Harry about what their plan is. If it were up to Harry, they wouldn’t pause to eat, but. Louis is hungry, too, is the thing.

Harry has been incredible to watch all day, laughing and scooping up Ava or Jackson anytime one of them gets too tired to keep walking. It’s been a lot of walking, to be fair, and they’re going on only about 7 hours of sleep. Less than that for the kids, probably, since Louis isn’t sure how long their late night (or early morning, rather) adventure lasted in the kitchen.

Louis is brought out of his thoughts when a small girl approaches them. It isn’t Ava, he double checks. This little girl has incredibly straight hair, unlike his daughter’s dark, curly hair. Louis really needs to put Ava’s hair up, he remembers, before she starts to complain about being sweaty. The other little girl taps his thigh once, twice before looking up at him and opening her mouth to speak before quickly closing it again. She’s absolutely adorable.

“What is it, love?” Harry says from next to Louis, Jackson clinging to his leg. “Y’alright?”

The girl can’t be much more than Jackson’s age, maybe seven of eight. Her eyes don’t look sad or worried, so Louis doesn’t immediately panic that she’s lost. “Yes, ma’am?” he asks with a comforting smile, crouching down to her level.

She giggles and pulls an autograph book out of her backpack, placed at her feet. It’s a Disney book, one meant for character’s signatures, but she pushes it towards Louis in a silent question. It’s been a while since someone this age has asked for his autograph, many of them too small to remember One Direction’s peak, let alone recognize them in a crowd. It sends a strange spark through Louis and when he glances up to catch Harry’s eye, he knows that his husband is feeling the same.

“You’re my favorite,” the little girl whispers, blushing from her cheeks down to her neck. “Both of you.”

Louis wants to pinch her cheeks and put her on his shoulders, which would be rather weird, so he refrains. He settles for a smile and a wink when he takes the autograph book from her hands, opening it to the next blank page. He gets to sign right after Winnie the Pooh. How incredible.

“What’s your name, babe?”

"Charlie,” she says before making a sour face. “It’s short for Charlotte.”

“Charlotte,” Louis says thoughtfully, finishing his signature and handing the book and pen up to Harry. Ava squirms at Louis’ side, looping her arms around his bicep and squeezing. She gets like that, Louis has noticed, when he or Harry talks to anyone younger than, like, ten years old that isn’t her or Jackson. It’s almost territorial, as if to let every other kid on the block know that this is her Papa and that nobody else can have him. It’s cute, Louis decides, but something he’ll have to talk to her about. Eventually.

“You know,” Louis continues once Charlie has taken the book from Harry with a sweet smile. “I have a little sister named Charlotte. She goes by Lottie, though.”

“I know,” she responds, blushing wildly again when Louis raises an eyebrow and smirks. “She doesn’t like Charlotte either, probably. ‘s the worst name.”

“I’ll have to pass that along to my mum,” Louis says, laughing when Charlie shakes her head and frowns, eyes going wide in panic. “I’m kidding, Charlie. We’ve gotta go, but have fun, alright? Oh,and merry Christmas!” He leans forward to pull her into a hug, and it’s then that he sees a woman standing not too far from them, watching carefully. There’s her mum, then. Louis gives her a small wave, and she waves back in acknowledgement before walking over and grabbing Charlie’s hand.

Harry bends down to hug her and to chat for a minute before they part ways. Louis is buzzing a bit, if he’s honest. It’s been a while since he’s been Louis Tomlinson of One Direction. Okay, it’s been, like, 4 months since they presented an award at the MTV EMAs, but. Still.

“That was weird,” Harry says once they’ve walked for a few minutes. Louis turns to him and he’s smiling, his dimples making his face look excruciatingly kissable. “I miss autographs, sometimes. I mean--” He runs a hand through his hair. “I wouldn’t trade this for anything, but.” He swings Jackson’s arm exaggeratedly to get his point across to Louis.

They’re being a bit dramatic, maybe, because it’s not as if they’ve fallen off the face of the earth. They’ll probably get noticed a few more times today, and hell, Harry is still on the cover of most tabloids, even after a year or so of being out of the spotlight. Every time the paparazzi find him, he’s either leaving a dinner with Louis or he’s picking up the kids from a play-date, so their stories are getting a bit weak - the only women they can connect him to tend to be his children’s teachers. Things have died down, considerably, but people are still interested in them, in their relationship.

“I know,” Louis says, smiling and bumping his hip against Harry’s. He understands, always does.

Jackson tugs at Harry’s hand then, breaking their focus. “Daddy, ‘m so hungry. Like, a dinosaur is in there,” he whines, pointing at his stomach. “A bellysaurus.”

“Ha ha ha,” Harry deadpans, smiling and rolling his eyes subtly when he looks over Louis. He reaches out and nudges his elbow against Louis’s side, and Louis laughs into his hand. It’s funny, Louis thinks, that Harry always acts like Jackson’s jokes are eye roll worthy. It’s truly the pot calling the kettle black. Luckily they are both very, very cute.

“Yeah, let’s get some dinner,” Harry continues. “Papa and I need a little break, anyway.”

They don’t actually go straight to dinner once Ava sees the line to “meet a real live fairy, Daddy!”, and by the time they’ve waited in line for 45 minutes for 2 photos with Tinkerbell, Jackson is less than pleased. They ride Star Tours again to make it up to him, and not at all for Louis’ personal enjoyment, really. They reach Main Street just as the sun is starting to go down, the sky a beautiful mix of purples and reds.

“The bellysaurus is getting very angry,” Jackson says with a smirk. His father’s child, honestly.

“Alright, Jax,” Louis says, laughing and bending down to tickle Jackson’s side.

Plaza Inn looks good enough for a dinner destination in Louis’ book, anything looking good enough at this point. It seems like a main attraction, numerous people out on the patio with plates full of food that smells amazing. Harry pulls out his guidebook, for at least the tenth time today, and the guidebook seems to agree on this place, luckily for Jax’s bellysaurus. Louis is thankful for Harry’s neurotic guidebook consulting when his plate is set in front of him, because the food is really fucking delicious. Mostly everything for the kids is in the shape of the famous Mickey ears, both Ava and Jackson giggling in delight when the waiter gives them an extra helping of frozen yogurt at the end of their meal. Harry denies it up and down, but Louis knows he’s responsible for the cake, complete with candles, that gets brought to their table after they eat. The entire wait staff comes over to sing a beautiful and cheery rendition of the happy birthday song, and Louis’ face is so hot with embarrassment it could probably melt right off his face. It’s all pretty damn perfect, if Louis says so himself.

Like he knew they would be, they’re all practically dead on their feet by the time they leave dinner. They start to stroll down Main Street a bit to kill time before the fireworks, the last bang (literally) of their day at the park. All of the fairy lights have been turned on now that it’s proper dark outside, decorations lining the windows of each building. It’s magical, really, and Louis guesses that’s probably the point.

“Papa,” Ava says, holding her empty frozen yogurt cup in one hand while they walk down the lit up road. “It’s snowing!”

“Ava, bean, it doesn’t snow in--” Louis cuts off as he glances out over Main Street, and he’ll be damned if tiny snowflakes aren’t blowing out of the light posts and floating down. It isn’t going to stick to the pavement for very long, obviously, but it’s twinkling in the light as it falls to the ground, and it feels like Christmas, it really does. Louis wants to drink hot cocoa and open presents while singing carols or something, christ. He loves Disneyland, sue him.

“Look how pretty, Lou,” Harry whispers. He sounds like he’s in awe, which, yeah. Louis gets that.

They all stand under a light post for at least ten minutes; Harry snaps pictures of the kids catching snow on their tongues and Louis couldn't be happier. When they do finally get closer to the castle, finding an unoccupied bench and sitting down with the kids in their laps, it’s almost time for the fireworks. Jackson and Ava are in awe of the castle when it’s lit up like this, looking like something straight out of a winter fairy tale. Ava is particularly impressed - slightly less when Harry explains to her that it is, in fact, not a gingerbread house, but is actually the same castle that they passed earlier. Her mouth opens in a small “oh” of realization, and they all laugh so hard that Harry takes a picture and [tweets](http://tinyurl.com/lhq38er) right then.

“Daddy,” Ava pouts once the announcer comes on to say that the show is about to start. “I can’t see. Can I sit on your shoulders?”

Harry must be exhausted, beyond it, but he picks her up happily, kissing her leg which is now next to his face. Once she’s situated on his shoulders, her hands tangled up in his curls, the show finally begins and it's--. God.

It’s amazing, one of the most amazing things Louis’ ever seen. The music playing is some sort of disney Christmas medley, but Louis is barely listening. Jackson is squirming in his lap, absolutely silent except for a couple of gasps at the really big fireworks. Harry brings one hand down from where it had been holding Ava’s foot, finding Louis’ hand on the bench and squeezing.

Louis scoots closer, holding Jackson to his chest. “Hi,” he says once he’s turned his face towards Harry’s.

“Hi,” Harry breathes, the fireworks lighting up his face every few seconds in beautiful colors, making his eyes glisten. “Happy birthday, Lou.”

“Mmm,” Louis hums with a smile. He leans forward to kiss Harry lightly on the lips, eliciting an ‘ewww’ from Ava. “Best birthday yet.”

Harry puts a hand to his chest in mock horror. “I thought you’d pick the birthday where I took you on holiday, but whatever.”

Louis laughs. Harry had taken him to France, for their own private holiday when things were still very Not Private, showering him with gifts and barely letting him leave the bedroom. “Oh, that was a good one. A great one. We’ll have to recreate that one year. Maybe for my thirtieth, when I’m an old man.”

Harry nods smugly, and fuck him with his two extra years on Louis, honestly. Louis is 29, he isn't old. He just isn't. He nudges Harry’s shoulder and they laugh, both turning to the fireworks and watching the rest of the show in content silence. It’s over too soon, Louis feeling like it went by in a blur of beautiful colors and songs. He’s never seen anything like it; of course he’s seen the fireworks show at different Disney parks around the world before, but this one seemed different, more special somehow. It’s his first time at Disneyland with his family - his own little family, jesus - and it’s just hours until Christmas and he’s twenty-fucking-nine today. Louis feels like he could float away at any moment.

Jackson is nearly asleep by the end of the fireworks show, Ava ready to rip off her shoes and lay down on the ground at this point, and Louis is ready to get them home. He and Harry still have the presents to lay out by the tree, and showers to take, and sleep to have. It’s been a long, brilliant day. The kids are buzzing with excitement, despite that they’re on their last strand of energy, and they spend the tram ride to the parking structure, at least until they fall asleep, recapping their favorite parts.

“I liked Tinkerbell lots, Daddy,” Ava tells Harry excitedly. He nods, encouraging her to go on. “She said she liked my hair! Can I be a fairy tomorrow, please?”

Louis bites his bottom lip, looking at Harry, who looks up at him with wide eyes. Louis jumps in, explaining, “Maybe Santa will bring you a new fairy toy, bean. I can’t make any promises that you’ll be a fairy, though. Daddy and I need you to stay an adorable--” He kisses her on the forehead. “perfect--” Kiss. “spoiled--” Kiss. “Little girl. If that’s alright.”

Ava giggles happily, gripping onto Harry’s shirt and squirming under Louis’ kisses. Jackson is asleep in Louis’ lap already, falling asleep just a couple of minutes after they sit down - Louis doesn't blame him at all. Ava falls asleep shortly after that, right before the tram pulls in front of the parking structure. Harry carries her and places her gently in the backseat of their car, buckling her and Jackson in before climbing into the passenger seat.

He leans over the console to kiss Louis once they’re both in the car. “Ready to go home and play Santa?”

Louis sighs, leaning forward to kiss Harry again, slowly this time, their lips moving against each other’s like they fit together perfectly. Kissing Harry after a long day always feels a lot like coming home. When he pulls back, he keeps his eyes closed. “Can’t we just live here? One day isn’t enough,” he whines.

“I know,” Harry laughs, looking at the back seat and watching the kids sleep for a moment when Louis starts driving. “Once they’re a little older we’ll have to come back for like, a whole week or something. When they can really enjoy everything.”

“You mean when they can ride the roller coasters you’re too scared to go on with me,” Louis deadpans.

Harry puts a hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter. “No, no.” He coughs. “I’ll ride them with you next time. I promise.”

Louis plans on holding him that to that promise. He can’t wait for next time.

  
  



End file.
